SPRINGVALE  —  It has been said that love doesn’t grow on trees. But anyone who has bit into a nice juicy apple or tucked into a warm slice of apple pie  — the first of the fall season, may be tempted to disagree.  

Apples are sweet or tart — or a luscious bit of both. 

And now’s the time to pick them.

When Labor Day rolls around and the morning air develops that brisk little  hint of fall to come, the apples, the earliest ones, are ready in the orchard.

Some U-pick operations in York County are already open; others will open on Saturday. Its a long weekend — and a great time to pack up the kids or the grandkids or your sweetie and pick enough for a pie, the lunchbox or a few jars of jelly. 

“This year is amazing,” said Ellen McAdam of McDougal Orchards LLC in Springvale. Unlike last year,  the weather this season has meant a good  sizable crop. “We have lots and lots of apples,” she said.

Over at Gile Family Farm in Alfred, Ann Boucher said the Ginger Gold, early Cortland and Paula Red apples are ready for the Saturday opening of their upick orchard on Shaker Hill. 

She’s hoping the stretch of pleasant weather will continue.

“You never know what the weather will bring,” she said.

For Boucher, one of the tastiest early apples is Ginger Gold — in a pie or an apple crisp.

“They hold their shape, and have good flavor,” Boucher said.

After the early varieties come Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Macoun and  so on.

There are several upick orchards in the county. As well as the McDougal and Gile upicks, those listed on the Maine Pomological Society include Brackett Orchard and Dole Orchard, both in Limington; Kelly Orchard and Romac Orchard, both in Acton; Libby & Son in Limerick; Spiller Farm in Wells and Snell Family Farm in Buxton.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.